The Ten Shinobi of Konoha
by Sienna Rain
Summary: Dalila Akeda was a non-shinobi; she was afraid of them. Konoha had gone to ruins because of gang violence, and the only reason she stayed behind was because of five girls, even if they WERE Kunoichi. However, one girls home is the gangs secret base, and the ANBU are out to find it. How does love fit into THIS mess? Rated T for violence, swearing. KibaxOC, or is it OCxOC? Hiatus.
1. Meet the Ten!

Chapter 1: Meet The 10

**Dalila's POV**

Dalila Akeda was walking down the street: the only thing that happened these days was war between the ANBU black ops and the gang members called The 10 Shinobi of Konoha, constantly referring to themselves as The 10. These 10 guys were criminals. They held up stores, and worked together with gangs in other villages, and were constantly fighting with other people from gangs in the same village and the ANBU, which were kind of like the police.

The group was split into two groups: the money handlers/dealers, called Deal Sealers, and the kick the shit out of you unless you comply/spies, or Strong Arms. 5 were on one side, and 5 on the other. Due to this, the group had two leaders. All of the people in the group had something for which they were the best at, and every single thing had helped them all avoid the ANBU for almost a year.

She was not a ninja, and she never wanted to be. Not only did she have no talent in that field whatsoever, but she was afraid of most ninjas. One had confronted her in her childhood, and she had been terrified. They were almost super human to her. All of the guys in that gang were Shinobi, or ninja. Dalila knew of a couple girls in her small circle of friends who knew some of the gang members well, and in turn, that meant that she knew them, too.

Dalila was just on her way to meet with her unpredictable friends, when a man no older than she was pushed her over. She looked up at him and he kicked her in the face, causing blood to well out of her cheek. Her hand shot up to the wound, and the man was gone.

"_Those Shinobi…"_ She thought, as she got up and raced toward Hinata Hyuga's mansion-like house. Hinata had a unique insider's view on what the gang was doing, considering that one of their members was her cousin, Neji Hyuga. Hinata told all of the girls what the gang was doing nowadays, but it wasn't like they could do anything about it. All of the girls came from Konoha, except Temari; she was from Suna, but her younger brother came to Konoha to become part of the gang on some of the other's requests a little over a year ago.

The gang stayed clear of the girls for the most part, but sometimes they would stop and have small conversations with them. Dalila knocked on the door, "Hey, it's me." She whispered, and Hinata was at the door in an instant, "Hi!" Dalila was ushered in, and all of the girls were already sitting in their usual seats.

Temari was gossiping on how her brother, one of the two most brutal guys in the gang, never really liked anyone to begin with. All of the girls had something for one of the members except Dalila herself:

Ino Yamanaka, the fashionista of the group, had a little something for the artist Sai. He was on the deal sealing side of things, and he was one of the most mysterious of them all. Sakura Haruno, the pinkette, had always thought something of the leader of the Deal Sealers, Sasuke Uchiha. It was said that if you get caught in his Genjutsu, then you don't have any time to think before he kills you.

Tenten, one of the strongest female ninjas that Dalila knew, was always talking about Hinata's cousin, Neji. He was a smart one, and on the Deal Sealers. Temari's little brother, Gaara, was a Strong Arm who was one of the strongest of all, and Temari had always liked someone called Shikamaru Nara. He was a Deal Sealer, but also a strategist. Hinata had always liked the leader of the Strong Arms; Naruto Uzumaki. He was a flamboyant one; always trying to show off and pull things off better than his partner in crime, Sasuke.

Among those not mentioned was also Choji Akimichi, a Strong Arm who could kill you with one hand tied behind his back. Shino Aburame, a mysterious guy, but was a Deal Sealer. Rock Lee, a Strong Arm who could permanently injure you just from a punch to the naval. Kiba Inuzuka and his huge ass dog Akamaru, Strong Arms, and rivaled with Gaara in brutality. Once he sic'd Akamaru on you, prepare to die in the worst way possible.

All of the gang members carried guns on them, just in case something got ugly, and all of the guys dressed like they had somewhere to go and someplace to be. Ties, jackets, tight and official-looking button down shirts, and sometimes hats. It was known only to the girls that their base was in Hinata's basement. However, they couldn't go down there because it was chakra encoded, and Dalila couldn't even use chakra anyway.

Dalila took her seat next to Tenten at the end; she had been friends with these girls, even though they were ninja, because she had known them forever. After her family had left Konoha, the only reason Dalila stayed was because of the girls. She had been entrusted with her parents old apartment, and she enjoyed living on her own, so there really wasn't any need to worry. Almost everyone they had grown up with had moved out of Konoha because of the gang activity, so many of the girl's parents or siblings didn't live there anymore.

"Oh, I know!" Temari had burst out. "We should have a girl's night out!" Sakura's green eyes widened from her seat next to Ino, "What do we do?" Tenten smirked, "We could try to sneak up on the boys. _That'd_ be an adventure." Dalila face-palmed, "We can't. They're some of the most experienced Shinobi in Konoha. It would end _horribly_ if they're expecting the ANBU." Hinata nodded, "I agree…"

Ino snapped her fingers, "Maybe we could follow them!" Sakura slapped her arm, "We don't know where they're going, _forehead girl_." Before the two could get into their normal quarrel, a figure came upstairs, and all the girls froze, wondering who it was. Suddenly, a long haired guy in a white, tailored suit and white shoes appeared, a green 'x' on his forehead, and a blue tie. None of them wore the headbands a Shinobi was supposed to wear, because they were sort of classified as 'missing nin' at the moment.

Hinata waved, "Hi, Neji." Neji just grunted, glanced at the girls, and grabbed a drink of water. Once he was done, he threw it into the trash and went back downstairs. Once he was gone, Tenten allowed her face to go completely red. All the girls 'aww'ed, and decided on speculating what the boys did down the stairs.

**The Gang's POV**

"Dammit, Teme, what the hell do we do now?" Naruto was angry. The deal with Suna's major gang, trading a thousand Ryo for weapons, didn't work out so well. They had only done it to help out the ANBU, thus screwing the peace treaty they held together. The 10 had almost gotten caught, and Choji had gotten his leg all cut up, which made them down one Strong Arm for a while.

Sasuke, answering to Naruto's stupid pet-name, backfired with his own, "I dunno, Dobe. There's little else we _can_ do, except keep robbing this place for more fund money." The other 8 members were also in the basement along with them, chilling out like normal.

Neji had just come back from getting a drink, and Gaara asked, "What are the girls gossiping about now?" Neji just shrugged, "When they heard me coming up the stairs, they stopped talking." Lee looked interested, "All of the girls were there?" Neji nodded and relaxed on a vacant couch. Naruto sighed, "Do any of you guys have your eyes on one of them?"

Gaara closed his eyes, "I have eyes on no one. I would only kill them." All the other guys shuddered, and Shino spoke up, "Girls are of no use to me." Kiba muttered, "Good luck getting laid." The room burst out in laughter, and Shino knitted his eyebrows together in thought, "Ok… who do _you_ have eyes on, huh, Inuzuka?" Kiba growled, "I don't have my eyes on any of _them._"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Well… sorry, Hyuga… but your cousin is _smokin'._" Neji threw a pen at Naruto's head, "Like she'd _ever_ go for an idiot like _you_." Sasuke sighed, "Well… I'd rather not say that I have my eye on any of them." Naruto snorted, "Don't kid yourself, Teme. I've seen the way you look at the pink-haired one… Sakura, was it? Is that her natural hair color…?" Sasuke shrugged, "Go ask." Naruto just huffed and looked at Shikamaru, "How about you?"

Shikamaru just sighed, "It's troublesome enough trying to think about strategies, but… Gaara, your sister isn't bad. She's pretty fierce, and I like that in a woman." Gaara just face-palmed, "She's bossier than nothing else, Nara." Neji said, suddenly, "The girl with the buns in her hair… Tenten, I guess." Sai was sitting in a corner, "Do you like any of the girls, Sai?" Demanded Naruto.

Sai looked up from his paintings, "If I _had_ to choose one… It'd be the blonde, slutty looking one." The guys snickered at Sai's word choice, and Choji said, munching on some barbeque chips, "Huh… wasn't there another one?" Neji said, sounding interested, "Yeah… now that I think about it, there _was_ another one."

"I'm gonna go upstairs and see for myself!" Naruto announced, before Kiba tripped him, "You're an idiot, Uzumaki. If you go upstairs, then you'll just make an ass out of yourself." Sasuke sighed, "Who wants to go up and check this shit out, then?" No one volunteered, until Neji sighed, "It is _my_ house, so I suppose I will, but only to save Uzumaki from making an ass out of himself." The group let out a collective laugh, and Naruto just snorted, "Suit yourself."

Neji started back up the stairs, and when he reached the top, all of the girls were staring at him except for one certain one; the one that no one really knew about. She didn't stand out by name like the other girl's did, but she was just… there. Neji took a moment to survey her appearance to tell the guys, took another drink of water, and walked right back downstairs.

Once he hit the bottom step, an anxious Naruto pounced on him, "So? Is there another?" Neji shook him off, "Yeah, there is." All of the guys were full on attention now. "How can that be…?" Lee asked. "I never noticed her." The 10 agreed with him, and Neji said, "Do you want me to describe her to you?" When all fell silent, Neji began:

"She was actually a small figure. Even smaller than Hinata. However, she is pretty well endowed for being so small-" A certain person cut him off, "You gonna describe _that_ to us instead?" Sai was looking up from his painting with wide eyes, and everyone face-palmed. "No, Sai. I wasn't done…" Neji growled, exasperated. He continued, "She has a darker complexity than the other girls, and her eyes are different… they're more of a cerulean color, with a hint of amber. She had small features, and long, captivating eyelashes. Her hair was shiny black, and went to approximately the middle of her back, and it looked wavy and silk-like."

The room was silent for a moment, and Shino said, "So… that's it?" Neji nodded, and Naruto just sighed, "Judging by the fact that none of us even noticed she was _there_, I'd say she's quiet." The others nodded in agreement, but Sai suddenly proposed, "Why don't we all go upstairs and talk to them?"

Sasuke face-palmed, "Guys, we don't have _time_ for this! We have to sort out all of our debt problems and…" "What the hell, Teme," Naruto sighed. "We deserve a bit of time off, don't you think?" Sasuke paused, and then sighed as well, "Fine. But only for a _little._"

**Dalila's POV**

She was laughing with the girls; they were making fun of the way some of the guys looked and acted, but they heard lots of footsteps coming up the stairs at the same time. Ino's eyes widened in a fan girl-like way, and Tenten whispered, "Oh. Shit." Hinata's eyes were widened, but Dalila didn't know what to feel. _"They always tease me about not liking any of them… maybe this'll be my chance to think about it."_

All of the guys filed out of the staircase, and Neji proposed, "Mind if we sit here, girls?" Tenten glared at him, "Don't you mean… ladies?" He stared back at her calmly, "Sure." Hinata just nodded, and the guys all sat down on the ground in front of the girls.

It was an awkward silence, and Dalila didn't know what to do. _"Honestly… I'm just plain terrified of these guys…"_ Temari, as always, broke the silence, "So… do you guys… need something?" Sasuke looked up at her, "Well, I have an idea. We're taking time off from our schedule, and we thought we'd hang with you girls for a sec." Tenten growled at being called a 'girl', not a 'lady', but Sasuke ignored her.

Sakura looked at Sasuke, a light pink blush on her cheeks, "Uh… what's your idea?" He glanced up at her and smirked, "We're going to play a game." Naruto grabbed his blonde head, "Shit, this isn't Saw, is it?" Sasuke rolled his eyes, and he said, "Ok… so we'll just go in a circle and tell something unusual about ourselves. Starting with me… I want to kill a bastard named Idate from Suna because he fucked the gang. Screwing our treaty like that…"

Dalila was confused for a moment, but Naruto said, "Ok… my turn. Honestly, I've gotta say… I eat ramen at least four times a day!" All of the guys in the room were confused, and Dalila smiled; this kid was _really_ something. Sai looked up from his drawings and said, "I guess I'd say that I hate no one in this room." "That's something coming from you, Sai…" Naruto commented, before Gaara growled, his hair being ruffled by Temari, "I want to kill a _certain someone_…"

Neji sighed, "I like all colors…" Everyone looked at him like he was crazy, and Dalila just twiddled her thumbs until it was her turn. All eyes turned to her and she said, "Uh… I'm not… a ninja, I guess." The girls knew this, so they stayed like they were, however, the guys did not. Naruto's eyes widened, along with the others, and he said, "You're not?" Dalila felt a faint blush engulfing her cheeks, "No… I just don't have the ability…"

"Tch…" Naruto snorted. "Why don't you?" Dalila looked away, "Because I'm afraid." All of the girl's eyes widened; they _knew_ Dalila hated to talk about it. It made her feel weak and helpless. She heard a collective snicker, and felt the normal tears build up in her eyes; she hated when people laughed at her. "Hey," Tenten piped up. "Don't make fun of her."

But Neji just smirked up to Dalila, "Don't tell me… you're afraid of… _Shinobi_." The whole room, with the exception of the girls and Dalila herself, erupted in laughter. Dalila couldn't take the ridicule anymore, and she stood up, stumbling over one of the guys, and ran out of the Hyuga mansion.

Dalila ran all the way to a vacant spot in Konoha; a place that she used to call, 'The Park', but since no one was there anymore, it was just vacant. She wiped the tears from her eyes; she didn't know what she'd do if someone saw her crying. _"What do I do? What SHOULD I do? I don't want to go back and end up looking stupid."_

She sat down at a bench that was weathered, and sighed aloud. Suddenly, there was a man making a beeline to her. But before she could do anything about it, a white animal stood in front of her, accompanied by one of the 10.

**The Gang/Girl's POV**

The guys were still laughing as Dalila ran out of the Hyuga mansion, and Sakura spoke up, "You guys are so inconsiderate!" The laughter ceased as Sai spoke up, "How do you not see how hilarious that is? Someone, afraid of _Shinobi?_ That's borderline _ridiculous_!" A few snickers arose from the 10, until Hinata sighed, "I… I guess we sh… should go find Dalila. Isn't there a rival gang being a lot more… active these days?"

Naruto rubbed his chin, "You're right, but how the hell are we supposed to figure out where she went?" All eyes turned to a certain Shinobi and his dog. "Ugh, you guys make me do _everything_." Kiba muttered as he walked to the door.

As soon as he and Akamaru had gotten out of the Hyuga mansion, he jumped onto him and said, "Let's go. You know what she smells like." As soon as Akamaru picked up a scent, they took off, flying through the nearly empty streets.

He arrived at the park, which used to be full of life, but was now empty. Akamaru whined when he saw her, and that's when Kiba noticed a rival gang member approaching her. _"Shit,"_ he growled. He raced over to her and stood in front of her, his right hand on the gun strapped to his right leg, "Come any closer, and you'll die," he growled.

**Dalila's POV**

She realized it was Kiba, and she felt her heartbeat speed up. _"How'd he get here so quickly?"_ The man who had been approaching her backed off, and fled the opposite way. The wind ruffled the trees at her back, and as Dalila stood up to thank him, a loud sound rang out and instantly, her hand flew to her right shoulder.

Kiba turned to her and his eyes widened. Quicker than anything she had ever seen, his hand flew to his gun and he started shooting behind her. Eventually, she heard a dull thud, and he stopped. His dog whined, and he hissed, "I _know_ that, Akamaru…" Dalila tightened the hold on her arm; the pain was starting to set in, and it hurt.

He must have noticed, because he took a step toward her, and asked, "Are you ok?" Dalila looked into his eyes and saw nothing but concern. _"He doesn't even know me… why would he care?"_ She glanced at her hand, and saw blood beginning to trickle out from the gaps in her hand. Kiba jerked his head, "C'mon. We'll get you fixed up."

Dalila couldn't do anything except listen to him as he walked toward his dog… Akamaru. He looked back at her, "Here, I'll let you ride in front of me." She felt her legs move toward him, but she must have tripped over herself, because she stumbled for a moment. She stepped up to Akamaru, and felt a pair of arms around her, lifting her onto the dog.

Pain seared her arm when she was seated atop of Akamaru, and he whimpered again. Dalila felt a low sound and Kiba saying, "Let's go." As they hurried back to the Hyuga mansion, she began to lose consciousness. Occasionally, her head would fall, and she'd have to use all of her energy to keep it up.

Suddenly, they jerked to a stop, and her back became cold with the absence of Kiba behind her. She turned her head, slowly, to see Kiba's crispy white button-down shirt, and everything suddenly went completely dark, although she could hear people talking, but was unable to hear what they were saying.

**The Gang/The Girl's POV**

The remaining gang members had been talking and chilling out in Hinata's living room. They hadn't talked much, mainly because everyone was nervous for their own reasons, and the ones who weren't nervous didn't talk much anyway.

Suddenly, Akamaru burst through the door, whining, and Kiba walked through, trying to carry Dalila but looking kind of awkward. Sakura and Ino jumped up simultaneously, "What happened?" But he walked to the middle of the room and nodded to Shino, "Right shoulder." Shino summoned some weird looking bugs from his arms, and they crawled into the cracks between her fingers, and Kiba sat down with Dalila in his lap.

Naruto glared at him, "What the hell happened, Inuzuka?" Kiba looked up at him, "Rival gangs _are_ active these days." Tenten's eyes widened, "She… got shot?" Kiba nodded, seemingly absentmindedly, and Gaara stood up, "Did you take care of them?" and he nodded, "But there may be more out there… I don't know."

Gaara nodded to Lee and Naruto, "We'll go and check." The three dispersed, and the room was silent, until Sasuke spoke up, "Huh… well… we never noticed her before. Can you girls tell us more about her?" Temari spoke up, unable to keep her eyes off of Dalila, "Well, out of all of us… she is the one who blends in. She and Hinata are nearly the same, but… she doesn't like to talk about things such as her being afraid of ninjas. I think you guys really set her off there…"

Sasuke's eyes were closed in thought, and he glanced at Shino, "How's she doing?" Shino's eyebrows were knitted in concentration, "Just fine. My bugs are decomposing the bullet to the point of no harm." All the girls glanced in between themselves nervously; honestly, they didn't know what they'd do without her.

Hinata spoke up, "W…Will she be ok?" Shino nodded slowly, "Yes… but she may be out for a while; her body isn't used to the shock, but my bugs will help with that…" The next few minutes were spent in silence, until Dalila finally opened her eyes.

Ok… for the beginning of this story… it's not that bad! :o Yeah… well… tell me what you think! Rate/Review! Re-uploaded because I have a new-found confidence in this one :D Rate/Review so I don't delete it again :o


	2. Teasing

_Flashback:_

_Hinata spoke up, "W…Will she be ok?" Shino nodded slowly, "Yes… but she may be out for a while; her body isn't used to the shock, but my bugs will help with that…" The next few minutes were spent in silence, until Dalila finally opened her eyes._

Chapter 2: Teasing

**Dalila's POV**

What seemed like moments later, she opened her eyes. The first thing that she took in was the smiling faces of the girls. Temari even said, "You're finally up! Wide awake, huh, sleepyhead?" All Dalila could do was blink in confusion for a moment; how'd she get inside? She began to sit up, but a hand pushed her firmly back down.

Her head shot up in surprise, and she saw none other than a familiar red triangle on a familiar looking boy's cheek that she happened to be sitting in the lap of. Immediately, her cheeks felt as if they were on fire, and a voice sounded across the room, "She should be ok… my bugs got rid of it…"

"_B-bugs?"_ was Dalila's only thought as she shook off the feeling that bugs could be crawling on her. Then, Hinata smiled, "So… Neji, what are the gang's plans now?" Neji sighed, "Well… actually… there's nothing for us to do. We're low on money and shit so we can't actually _carry out_ the things that are on our checklist, but we could fix that soon. We're working on the ultimate deal, so… we'll be out of our endless debt hole soon, and all the money will be ours!"

Shikamaru, who had been quietly sitting next to Choji, even taking a chip from him from time to time, sighed, "Yeah, that's great and all, but this has been our only break in _days._ It gets tiring being a wanted criminal…"

As the small talk went on, the voices faded to the background as a subtle blush lit Dalila's face. _"It's like… fireworks. But… no. I can't like a gang member… a Shinobi at that. No… I can't… but… he can't be all bad; his dog is the sweetest creature I've ever met."_

She looked to her side and felt Akamaru's soft fur against her right cheek. Akamaru barked, and Kiba sighed, "What's up?" Akamaru just whined, and Kiba sighed, "Nope." _"I wonder what they talk about."_ She thought for a moment, then the door opened, and Gaara, Lee, and Naruto came back. They were all sweaty and their eyes were wide, which made everyone ask what happened.

"Damn… the ANBU caught us sniffing around." Naruto said, sounding out of breath, and he continued, "However… they caught the rival gang member instead… so we're safe." Sasuke stood up, "Break time is over." All of the guys in the room cursed, and they all stood up. Kiba stood and put her back in her normal seat, Dalila noticing how much care he put into placing her softly, and when he let go, he smiled at her.

Her heart exploded with feeling, and she felt a faint smile on her own face as well. The look in his eyes… they were so dangerous, so sharp and almost commanding… they made her want to know so much more about him. _"As if he'd ever have time for ME, though,"_ she sighed in her mind as he pulled away and followed everyone else down the stairs. Akamaru followed him closely, and as soon as all of the footsteps were gone, Ino turned to the group, a squeal in her voice.

"They're _so_ bad…" she swooned, and Sakura sighed, "Sasuke… he seemed so… in control. I wonder how they all do it." Temari smirked, "Shikamaru. He kept looking at me!" Tenten huffed, "Neji called me a _girl._ I'm a fucking _lady_!" All Hinata did was blush, and all eyes turned to Dalila almost simultaneously.

Temari started, a sinister look in her eyes, "So… how about that, huh? Do you _still_ not have your eye on any of the guys?" Dalila, out of habit from being asked this question on many occasions, shook her head, but Ino snorted, "Yeah, right! You and Kiba would make the _ultimate_ couple!"

Dalila's cheeks felt like they were on fire, and she muttered, "No. We wouldn't." But Sakura continued, picking up where Ino left off, "Yeah, you would! He helped you, and he _carried_ you back into the mansion. Isn't that just the sweetest thing you've ever heard, girlies?" Tenten laughed, "Yeah, didn't you see his eyes? When he was carrying you in here, he had something in his eyes. What was that emotion…?"

Without any hesitation, all the girls burst out, "Love!" Hinata sighed, "Why don't we leave poor Dalila alone, girls?" They all exhaled sharply, "Fine… ok." But Ino smirked, "But, Dalila… you _have_ to tell us if you start feeling something."

Before Dalila could comment back, a pair… no, two pairs of footsteps began to sound from the stairs. Temari smirked, "Heh, alright. Fine. Don't tell us who you like, Dalila. But we'll find out. And when we do… we'll do _everything_ we can to help make it work. Even though we already know who it is." Dalila tuned out after seeing who it was that came up the stairs. She sharply looked away when she saw that it was none other than Kiba Inuzuka.

Trying not to show the girls any weakness, she lifted her eyes up, only for them to be almost pulled to him, like a magnet. Instantly, his eyes flew to hers, and she felt nothing but a cold shiver at how uncharacteristically unreadable they became. He began walking toward her, and with every step he took, her heartbeat got faster, until it was almost like a kid tapping his pencil to annoy everyone in the room.

He stopped in front of her, Akamaru by his side, and he said, "Hey… uh… I kind of forgot to put some bandages on your wound… so, would you let me… do that, really quickly?" It wasn't like him to be this nervous. It wasn't like _any_ of the gang to be that nervous. She nodded quickly, hearing the other girls giggle as she stood up and followed him to the bathroom.

As soon as they arrived, it took him no less than a minute to wrap the bandages around her arm. He began to leave, but she burst out, "T-thanks!" Kiba turned to look at her, his eyes wider than they normally were, and he muttered, "No problem. It was bothering me, that's all."

When they walked out of the bathroom together, Akamaru looked at the two of them and barked, making Kiba just snort, "Whatever." He began to walk toward the stairs, but Dalila began to pet Akamaru, and he pounced on her, licking her face. She giggled, and Kiba turned around.

Dalila couldn't really understand the emotions in his eyes; it was like he wanted to speak, but he couldn't. However, he just snorted and said, "C'mon, Akamaru; let's go for a walk." Akamaru licked her face once more and barked, but he also jumped off of her and ran out of the door with his master. She looked out the window to see them both flying down the street.

As she made her way to her feet, the girls were suddenly behind her, "It was… _bothering_ him?" Asked Tenten, seemingly in disbelief. "Since when does _anything_ bother _Kiba?"_ Snorted Ino. Hinata turned to Dalila, "Um… if you don't mind me saying… I also agree that you two would make a great couple." Temari slammed her fist into her hand, "Alright, that settles it! You like Kiba, and _we're_ going to find a way to make you admit it!"

**The Gang's POV**

As soon as Kiba left, Lee looked up from the bandages on his arms that he was tying then retying, "Inuzuka seemed… out of it, don't you all think?" The other gang members looked up from whatever they had been doing, and Choji's eyebrow rose, "You noticed, too, Lee?" Lee nodded, "Yes. I wonder what caused it…"

Naruto began to laugh, and Sasuke growled, "What is it, Dobe?" Between his bouts of laughter, he said, "I think… I think something's bothering him… like having that one girl in his _lap?"_ It was as if the circulation in the air stopped in the room; everyone was contemplating this thought, and Shino spoke up, "Yes… now that the thought has been mulled over for a moment, his actions since that time have been unexplainable."

Gaara closed his eyes, "What the hell is up with you guys and girls? We don't have _time_ for them. Even if we _were_ to pick up some girls… do you _want_ to put them in danger?" The room went silent again, and Shikamaru sighed, "That's the most I've _ever_ heard you say at one time, Gaara… but in a way, he's right. I wouldn't want to put someone that I was with in danger just because I had to do business."

"I guess he's just not used to these kinds of things," Neji said, twirling a pen on the tip of his finger horizontally, without even trying. "Inuzuka's never had feelings for anyone since becoming a member of The Ten, right?" The group nodded, and Neji continued, "Yeah, so I guess it'd make sense as to his sudden behavior change."

However, Naruto was rubbing his hands together evilly, "I can't _wait_ to mess with 'em when he comes back! Finally, I can dish out what he's been giving me since he found out about _my_ little… crush." He muttered the last word, trying not to seem 'unmanly'. However, he failed because the rest of the group laughed at him, and began to call him a girl.

**Dalila's POV**

Ever since the girls had ushered her over to the couch, they had begun to question her about all of the boy's looks and things as such, even resulting to ask about their own 'lover boys', which made most of them jealous just thinking about it.

However, Dalila answered all of the questions easily because she refused to show any emotion, even when asked about Kiba. But when he walked back through the door, all of the talking stopped, and the girls looked at her.

She didn't even notice them, though, because her entire face was engulfed in a blush that she couldn't hide, and her only defense mechanism was to look away. But she heard his footsteps stop, and she looked up to meet his eyes for less than a moment, as he looked away and headed down the stairs, shaking his hair, making water fly off of it.

The sight polluted Dalila's mind with nearly endless fantasies and such, but she was snapped out of it when Sakura said, "Dalila… his eyes were on you the _whole time_ he was _in_ here!" Temari smirked triumphantly, but all that could escape from her own mouth was, "So? I don't care." All their faces went from victorious to defeated in a heartbeat.

"Looks like it's back to square one," sighed Hinata, and the other girls sighed collectively.

**The Gang's POV**

The Ten were actually quite quiet as they enjoyed the evening's peace; it was almost fall, and the warm, summer days wouldn't last for long. Then, they heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and Kiba emerged from them, the door closing behind him and Akamaru.

Naruto smirked, finally seeing his chance, "Hey, Inuzuka. Why were you gone so long?" Kiba just looked at Naruto, "Why would it matter to _you_, Uzumaki?" Naruto almost seethed at this comment, but he chose to ignore it. "Fine."

The room was silent for a moment, until Kiba suddenly asked, "That girl… what's her name?" All eyes in the room shifted to him, and Naruto burst out, "I _knew_ it!" He soon regained his composure and sighed, "Oh…the girl? I believe her name is-" "Dalila." Shino filled in for him.

"Dammit, Aburame! I didn't need your help finishing my sentence!" The group watched as Kiba's eyes moved up to the ceiling, "Ok." The room was silent again, and Naruto tried for another attempt at drawing out Kiba's feelings. "Inuzuka… we were all talking about the first thing we thought about the girls when we saw them. It's your turn."

Even though everyone in the room knew it was a lie, Kiba wasn't normally the one who was able to see through those kinds of things. Naturally, Kiba sighed, "Fine. Hinata; she must be related to Neji. Tenten; Bad. News. Temari; she looks kind of mean. Ino; she dresses like a whore… Sakura; is that her real hair color? Dalila;…"

He stopped there, and everyone had turned to stare at him. "Yes?" Naruto egged him on, but Kiba just sighed, "Dalila… she's just any other girl."

Decided to end it there. I think it'll get better in a bit. A little feedback wouldn't hurt me, either D: Ok. Rate/Review!


	3. The Flower That Bloomed In A Harsh Storm

_Flashback:_

_He stopped there, and everyone had turned to stare at him. "Yes?" Naruto egged him on, but Kiba just sighed, "Dalila… she's just any other girl."_

Chapter 3: The Flower That Bloomed In A Harsh Storm

**Dalila's POV**

"Girl… you should _honestly_ tell us if you like him or not! We won't make fun of you…" Tenten was pleading with Dalila, but she wasn't going to budge. _"I don't like him. There's really no reason to."_ But the girls just wouldn't leave her alone about it.

Suddenly, everything in the house got bright, and then it got dark again. "Lightning," Hinata murmured softly. "This is just _great!"_ Temari scoffed. "How the hell am I supposed to get home without getting my hair wet?" Tenten looked around, "That fan…" Temari glared at her, "If it gets wet, it's hard as hell getting that thing dry!"

The girls sat in silence, listening to the rain, when Ino burst out, "It was sunny earlier… how'd it start raining?" All eyes widened as the girls pondered that, and Sakura looked nervous, "Do… do you girls think we should get some of the guys to walk us home?" But Ino shook her head almost instantly, "No. As much as I'd love to walk home with Sai," she took a minute to swoon at his name, and then continued, "They probably don't have time to waste with us. They have a major deal they have to work out."

Hinata nodded, "I suppose you're right, Ino, but… as a precaution, I would suggest that you take some of the guys." She glanced at Dalila and she understood; Hinata was scared that one of them was going to get shot, just like she did. However, Temari smirked, "Also… it may be time for a certain someone to try and hang out with another certain someone."

All eyes turned to Dalila, but she put her hands up to her face as she murmured, "I don't really think any of the guys would want to go home with me…" But Sakura interjected, "Yeah, they would! You've _never_ had a guy walk you home before, and I think today, in the rain, is the best time to do it!" All the other girls, including Hinata, and Dalila sighed, "No. I can walk home by myself."

Her apartment was quite small, and it was on the top floor of her complex, so she preferred to go by herself, because she didn't really like when _everyone_ knew where she lived. After all, she could walk herself home; she had legs, didn't she?

But just as she got up and walked to the door, muttering a few goodbyes to the girls, many footsteps began to sound from the stairs, thus making her sprint out the door, and then regain her composure by dragging her feet, slowly, down the rain sodden road.

**The Girl's POV**

They heard footsteps coming from the stairs, and watched as Dalila sprinted out of the door, and Ino laughed, "She always _was_ kind of skittish." All of the guys came down the stairs as Naruto announced, "Due to the uncharacteristic change in the weather, Uchiha-Teme has declared that we should walk each of you girls home, with the exception of Hinata," he winked, making Hinata blush deeply, then continued, "And therefore, he assigned some of us to do it."

But as he took a look around, his eyebrow rose, "Is one of you missing?" Tenten sighed, "Yeah, Dalila just left." All of their eyes widened, and Sasuke snorted, "In this weather, after she got _shot?_ You're shitting me, right?" But the girls shook their heads, and all eyes turned to Kiba for the second time that day.

"Fine…" he murmured, something in his eyes as he and Akamaru walked out of the door, both of their heads down.

After they had left, Naruto snorted, "He so likes her," but slapped his hand onto his mouth when he realized he had said it out loud. The girls shrugged, and Sakura said, "We think she likes him, too. It's funny, though, because they're complete opposites; she's so quiet, and keeps to herself so much that it's like she's not even there, whereas he's the loudest person we've ever met, besides you, Naruto."

"Damn straight," he laughed, but then got serious, "Ok… well… Sasuke, you take Sakura. Sai, take Ino. Neji, uh… Tenten. Shikamaru, Temari. And… I'll stay with Hinata until Neji gets back, alright?" The whole group nodded, and the ones whose names weren't called went back downstairs.

**Dalila's POV**

She hadn't even gotten a quarter of the way to her apartment because she was walking so slowly, when she heard footsteps coming toward her at a rapid pace. At first, she felt nothing but panic; was she going to get shot again? But Akamaru came up to her and licked her hand.

Dalila smiled, _"He's such a cute dog… I wish I had one…"_ but then she realized that she was standing with two halves of a whole. She looked up to see Kiba standing on Akamaru's right side, and he said, "Well, Sasuke and Naruto sent me to find you and walk you home… so I guess I'll do just that." Dalila's initial reaction to the news was nothing but embarrassment, but she said, "Why would they do something like that?"

Kiba glanced at her, and he muttered, "I guess they were worried about the weather." "I don't see why, though." They said, at the same time. They both stopped and looked at each other, and all Dalila could see was confusion in his eyes, but also, his normally spiky hair was slicked by the rain relentlessly pouring down on them.

However, Dalila took him in a bit more, and saw through his button down shirt, which was now sticking to his body, and immediately felt a blush sear her cheeks; this guy was toned. I mean, _toned._ _"He must work out every day,"_ Dalila thought, nearly unable to tear her eyes from him. _"It must be some tough work, being a ninja…"_

He must have noticed her stare, and he said, "So… if you don't mind me asking, why are you afraid of Shinobi?" The question caught her off guard, and no matter how much she hated that certain question, she was going to answer it this time. "In my childhood, a ninja attacked me for no reason one day. I don't know what they wanted, but they threw knives and they were really fast… ever since, I guess I've just been afraid."

"I'm sorry," she heard him mutter. "It's fine," she almost stuttered, feeling almost dizzy at the thought of having a real conversation with him. Kiba looked at her, again, and this time Akamaru barked at him, making him snort, "No."

It almost made Dalila want to ask him what they talked about, but she kept her mouth shut; it may be something she shouldn't get involved in. However, he looked at her again, and said, "So… uh… is your… is your arm ok? I mean, does it hurt or anything?"

Taken aback, Dalila glanced at her arm wound that she had gotten only a few hours ago. It stung a bit, but she didn't mind at all. In fact, she almost felt a little stronger. _"But… why would HE care all of a sudden?"_ She asked herself, but she said, "No, it's fine."

The two silently trudged on, until Dalila realized that they were halfway to her apartment. _"I almost don't want to go… he's actually very nice, for a gang member. Especially one of The Ten. One of the most brutal in the gang… I almost don't believe it."_ But she suddenly remembered when he shot and killed the person who had shot her, and sighed, _"Never mind."_

They kept walking in silence, until Akamaru barked up at her. Dalila stopped and began petting him; rubbing his ears, touching her nose to his, giving him a hug. It wasn't for at least two minutes into cuddling with Akamaru, when she realized that Kiba had watched the whole thing.

Lightning flashed above them, and she saw his eyes; sharp, but soft when he looked at her and Akamaru. "He seems to like you," he commented, as they kept walking along. "Yeah," she agreed. Kiba looked at her from the corner of his eye, making Dalila's heart almost stop, "He doesn't usually like people. So… I guess you're ok."

Dalila smiled, "I guess I can deal with that." He turned his head to her and gave her a blank stare, but quickly looked away, and moved to the side of the road, picking something up and putting it in his pocket. "What was that…?" she whispered. Kiba shrugged, "Oh… nothing."

"_Great… that's going to bother me all day…"_ she thought, but she could see her balcony approaching, up in the dark sky. "There's my house… uh… thanks for walking with me," she said, as she began to walk ahead, but Kiba grabbed her wrist, making her squeak in surprise; his hand was firm, and Dalila could almost feel a bruise coming on.

Dalila turned back to see Kiba's face, which was almost blank, but had something like responsibility in his posture. "I'm walking you home. That means… I'm going with you the rest of the way, even if it isn't that far." Dalila felt her cheeks redden, but she heard her own faint whisper, "Ok…"

They kept walking, and Dalila noticed that he hadn't let go of her wrist yet. It hurt, but it was worth it. They reached the apartment complex, and she pointed, "Mine's on the top floor." Kiba's eyes widened, "Tch. Must be hell to get to every day." Dalila nodded, "Sometimes, when my feet hurt or something, it's tough walking up seven flights of stairs."

Kiba just sighed, "Being a ninja has it's perks I guess." Dalila turned to him, "What do you mean by-" But she felt a firm arm around her waist as he lifted her into his arms. "Stay here, Akamaru," he smirked, and Dalila got a feeling in her stomach that this wasn't going to be good.

He ran at the wall, and Dalila closed her eyes tight, _"He's gonna kill me, he's gonna kill me…"_ was the only thing on her mind, but she felt him stop, "Hey. It's alright… I guess you can open your eyes. I'm not gonna drop you." She opened her eyes, and felt dizzy. She was staring at her balcony, but it wasn't quite right. Almost as if she was upside down or something.

"_Am I… lying down?"_ Dalila thought, but she looked up at Kiba, and his slicked-back hair was hanging back, as if they were frozen on a swing or something. Her eyes widened as she looked around frantically, _"Are we standing… on the WALL?"_

Her first reaction was to get Kiba to let go of her, but when she tried to struggle, he sighed, "Don't worry. It'll only take a second." With that, he began to run. Dalila had no idea how fast he was until then. It only took a moment for Dalila to realize that she was on her balcony, and she sighed in relief that that was over.

Kiba's eyebrow rose, "Faster than the stairs?" He asked. She nodded, breathlessly, and he slowly lifted her onto the ground. Dalila opened the door that led to her apartment, and she asked him, "Here… I'll let you dry off. I'll just get you a towel or something."

Dalila watched as his expression became almost unreadable, but he just nodded and followed her inside. Once inside, Dalila sighed in relief that she had cleaned that day, and said, "Make yourself at home," as she made her way to the bathroom to grab a few towels.

"_A gang member, one of The Ten Shinobi of Konoha, is in my house… what a weird feeling."_ She thought, as she grabbed two towels, and when she made her way back to the living room, he was looking at old photographs on top of the mantle of her fireplace.

However, almost as soon as she came into the room, he turned and said, "Uh… thanks." Dalila felt a heartwarming smile light up her face unwillingly, "You're welcome. Feel free to stay as long as you'd like." She could almost slap herself, _"You sound like… like a hotel clerk!"_

But Kiba didn't seem to mind, as he shook his head and got his hair back to its normal spikiness, and then he looked at her, "So," his tone sounding almost tired. "Your name… it's Dalila, right?" Dalila nodded, exploding on the inside at how he had known her name. "Dalila Akeda… that's my name." She finished.

Kiba nodded, and said, "Well… you're nice." She felt her eyebrow go up, "That's it?" He looked up at her, confused, and she waved her hands in front of her face, "I mean… is that all you were going to say?" His confusion cleared up to reveal blank eyes as he said, "Yeah, I guess…"

"_You just made it awkward, stupid!"_ Dalila yelled at herself, but Kiba smiled at her, "Well, I've gotta go. We have a deal to plan, and everyone will kill Akamaru and I if we're not there."

Dalila felt almost disappointment, and she said, "Oh… well, good luck with that… and, thanks for bringing me home." Kiba nodded at her, "Yeah, no problem. It was amusing, actually." Dalila felt herself smile, and watched him blink. It was almost as if he wanted to tell her something, but he blinked again and it was gone.

She took his towels, and went to go put them in her room. _"I'll go put these with the other things that I need to wash… well, in this case, dry…"_ Dalila put them on the bathroom counter, and she walked out to the living room, expecting Kiba to be looking at her photos, but he was gone. Instead, where he was standing before, there was something pink on a particular photo; one of just herself that she had taken the other day.

It had been such a good picture, that she had to frame it, and it looked good next to the other pictures of her family. Dalila went up to it and found that it was a pink flower, but one of the petals was gone. Automatically, she felt a blush heat up her cheeks, and the memory of Kiba picking something up as they went along to her apartment.

"_That's probably why a petal is gone… he put it in his pocket…"_ She picked it up, and smelled it. It didn't smell like a flower; it smelled like rain, and him. Kiba, that is. Dalila held it close to her heart as many questions ran through her mind, but only one barked the loudest, _"Why would he leave ME a flower?"_

Curious, she ran out onto the balcony, and saw that Akamaru was gone, and so was Kiba. Disappointed, she rushed to her room and put it by her bed. Dalila lied down, her hand stroking the flower, and slowly, she drifted into sleep.

**The Gang's POV**

"Where the hell is-" Sasuke started, but Kiba and Akamaru rushed down the stairs, soaked to the bone, no pun intended, and he burst out, "Here. Sorry I'm kind of late…" Naruto rolled his eyes, "Psh… you were probably busy making out with _her,_ weren't you?"

The whole gang watched as Kiba's eyes became wide, and Gaara spoke up, "You weren't… were you?" Kiba shook his head, "No… I wasn't. Nor will I ever be…" But Naruto snorted, "On the contrary…" Before a fight broke out, Neji silenced everyone by holding up a hand, "Why don't we just calm down… and get back to work. I _really_ want to figure out how to come up with the perfect deal. Then… no one will be able to refuse us."

The gang nodded, and Shino began to speak, thus putting the entire room into a working atmosphere.

This story may actually be getting somewhere! Hard to believe, right? Well, yeah. Uh… Rate/Review! (Please.)


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